High Court confirmed two years’ imprisonment for Lance Parata, convicted of a $57,500 invoicing fraud where he altered invoices for work done by his employer’s Helensville vehicle workshop, with payment diverted to his personal Westpac account.
What stung for employer NP Dobbie Maintenance Ltd was that much of this offending took place during covid lockdowns at a time when Parata manipulated staff, denigrating Dobbie management.
The High Court was told that Parata, on a $80,000 plus salary package, altered customer invoices on over thirty occasions through a period of at least two years.
He subsequently disputed the amount taken, eventually pleading guilty to charges amounting to $57,400.
He appealed his two year sentence, claiming insufficient credit was given for both his guilty plea and his history of drug and alcohol abuse.
His guilty plea came eleven months after being charged and after multiple preliminary court appearances. Further credit would have required an earlier guilty plea, Justice Downs said.
Justice Downs questioned the direct relevance of Parata’s substance abuse on the sentence imposed. Money stolen was not spent solely on drugs and alcohol; it was spent variously on food, tools, and equipment, plus drugs and alcohol.
No further credit, beyond three months already allowed by the trial judge, was granted. There was no evidence that substance abuse ‘caused’ the offending.
Parata has a criminal record. The trial judge added two months to her sentence calculation for this prior criminal history.
Parata v. R – High Court (5.06.25)
25.135